Exclusive: The Bold and the Beautiful Heads to the Middle East

In a first for daytime drama, The Bold and the Beautiful is gearing up for a location shoot in the United Arab Emirates specifically Abu Dhabi and Dubai that will involve actors Thorsten Kaye (Ridge), Don Diamont (Bill) ...

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By TV Guide

Smyrna/Clayton Sun-Times

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 24, 2014 at 5:00 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 24, 2014 at 5:00 PM

In a first for daytime drama, The Bold and the Beautifulis gearing up for a location shoot in the United Arab Emirates - specifically Abu Dhabi and Dubai - that will involve actors Thorsten Kaye (Ridge), Don Diamont (Bill) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke). The CBS soap will film there March 17-19 with the story arc hitting the air in late May or early June.

"This is a great opportunity for us," executive producer Bradley Bell tells TV Guide Magazine. "B&B is really popular on the Dubai One network and that's opened up a lot of doors. We don't quite know what to expect but that's always the most fun part of this job - going off and trying things we've never done before. It's very exciting."

Credit for the adventure goes to Lang who was invited to take part in a triathlon in Abu Dhabi "Kelly asked me for time off to take part in the event and I said, 'Well, how about we all come with you?" reveals Bell. "So we're going to back up the station wagon and all pile in!"

Bell's plot has control-freak Ridge following Brooke and Bill to the United Arab Emirates. "We're going to take advantage of the great Ridge-Bill rivalry," says the exec. "Ridge still feels like he's Brooke's protector and he certainly doesn't want Bill to become stepfather to his son, R.J. So he's a man on a mission!"

B&B has yet another cool location shoot coming up, though it's much closer to home. "We're doing a story involving Liam [Scott Clifton] and Hope [Kim Matula] down at the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter, an organization that's accomplishing incredible things with animal rescue and adoption," says Bell. Longtime animal advocate Bob Barker, former host of CBS's The Price is Right, and Brandon McMillan, host of the CBS Saturday morning show Lucky Dog, will appear in the story, along with several real-life employees of the shelter. Look for it to air April 30-May2.

Page 2 of 2 - "We want to put the spotlight on animal welfare in much the same way we focused on the plight of L.A.'s homeless for the story with Stephanie Forrester [Susan Flannery]," says Bell, who admits he's not being totally altruistic here. "Sure, we want to talk about an important issue but we'll also use this story to differentiate the two men in Hope's life," says Bell. "On one hand she has Wyatt [Darin Brooks], who wants to put her in a trailer and take her up the coast where they'll drink and make love. Then there's Liam who is socially conscious and saving animals. Two very different men." So who comes out on top? Hints Bell with a laugh: "It's always a turn-on to see a handsome guy petting a puppy."